A Positive Disruption in Birmingham: New Birmingham Lights Installation

March 20, 2014

The Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham and REV Birmingham will unveil Birmingham Lights: Positive Disruption on Friday, March 28 in conjunction with the highly-anticipated exhibition game between the Birmingham Barons and Chicago White Sox at Regions Field. The 14th Street lighting installation marks the second of four permanent light art projects to be installed under viaducts across Birmingham’s City Center.

18th Street LightRails installation

During the game, organizers will preview an exclusive show of the underpass lights on the field’s Jumbotron. Attendees are invited to pass through the lights after the game to celebrate the newly activated 14th Street Viaduct. REV and the Community Foundation will offer music and giveaways from 9p.m.-11p.m.

Funded by the Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham’s Community Catalyst Fund, the 14th Street installation has been designed by local light artist John Gill. Titled ‘Positive Disruption,’ the installation allows pedestrians to disrupt the normal patterns of the spectrum by entering the underpass walkways. “People are used to seeing color arranged in the typical pattern of a rainbow. We want pedestrians to disrupt that pattern in a way that is fun and a little jarring,” said Gill.

“Our whole idea behind this underpass installation was to encourage pedestrians to make better use of it when going to the ballpark or Railroad Park,” said REV Birmingham CEO David Fleming. “In a way, the installation itself should disrupt some of the negative patterns on the west side of downtown, whether that’s vagrancy or just underuse.”

Future installations by Gill at 19th and 20th streets have also been funded by the Community Foundation’s Community Catalyst Fund and work is underway. The first installation in the Birmingham Lights series, titled LightRails, was designed by San Antonio artist and sculptor Bill Fitzgibbons and was activated June 27th at the 18th Street Railroad Viaduct.